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64th Congress \ 
1 1st Session ) 



SENATE 



/ Document 
I No. 479 



TIES THAT BIND THE AMERICAS 



AN ADDRESS 



DELIVERED 

m RESPONSE TO THE ADDRESS OF THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN 
AFFAIRS OF ARGENTINA AT THE FAREWELL DINNER GIVEN 
THE DELEGATES TO THE INTERNATIONAL HIGH 
COMMISSION BY THE ARGENTINE GOVERN- 
MENT AT THE CAPITOL IN BUENOS 
AIRES, ON APRIL 12, 1916 



By 



HON. DUNCAN U. FLETCHER 

UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM FLORIDA 

PRESIDENT OF THE 

SOUTHERN COMMERCIAL CONGRESS 




PRESENTED BY MR. STONE 
June so, 1916. — Ordered to be printed 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1916 



- r Lp 



D. of D. 
JUL \! 1916 



^ 



TIES THAT BIND THE AMERICAS. 



ADDRESS BY HON. DUNCAN U. FLETCHER, 

United States Senator from Florida, 
President of the Southern Commercial Congress, 

in response to the address op the minister of foreign affairs op argentina 
at the farewell dinner given the delegates to the international high 
commission by the argentine government at the capitol in buenos aires, 

April 12, 1916. 



Me. President, Your Excellencies, and Gentlemen: In re- 
sponding for the delegations, who have bestowed on me the honor 
involved in that task, to the splendid address just heard, I shall not 
venture on a discussion of Pan Americanism, because I could not add 
to the statesmanlike analysis given us in the eloquent words of his 
excellency the minister. 

We have reason to believe that Pan Americanism, and what the 
minister weU calls "international fraternity," have now assumed 
definite and practical shape. This conference has resulted in the 
focusing of thought upon certain phases of international questions 
and clarifying them. What has obtained in the field of sentiment 
has found expression in the exercise of will. What has rested in 
conviction has come forth in action. The Argentine Government, 
in accordance with the progressive spirit of its people and the recog- 
nized wisdom and patriotism of its statesmen, have rendered a dis- 
tinct service in the highest public interest to all the Americas, and 
this has been done with such hearty cordiality, under such efhcient 
direction and with such liberality and thorougliness, as marks a new 
elevation in the forward march of this proud Republic. 

We shall leave you, Mr. Minister, with regret, and we can never 
forget the pleasures you have mingled with our work, nor the delightful 
friendships formed, nor the favorable impressions received of your 
great country and its more than beautiful capital city. While the 
distance between many of us has been a barrier in the past and meas- 
ured by miles would seem a hindrance to that close relation we desire, 
when we consider the development of science and skill in these recent 
years, we realize that space is being annihilated, the oceans are 
becoming lakes, cables steal out from every shore, and the very air 
has become a whispering gallery as it belts the earth. 

The various means of communication, respondmg to the enterprise 
of man, under modern conditions, are bringing us closer together day 
by day. The world is bemg compressed by economic forces, so that 
no event of importance can happen anywhere without showing its 
effects in other portions. 

50394—16 3 



4 TIES THAT BIND THE AMERICAS. 

Pardon this personal allusion, for illustration: On this, my first 
visit to your country, I find friends located here whom I knew in 
Florida 20 years ago. The first street sign I read after registering at 
the hotel was "Florida/' and I proceeded to stroll the entire length 
of that beautiful and popular thoroughfare, reading the name at every 
corner until the sunshine, flowers, and contentment of my beloved 
State seemed to fill me with a perfect sense of home. 

The Southern Commercial Congress has for some years circulated 
in the United States literature of the most trustworthy and informing 
character pointing out the many advantages and opportunities 
afforded in the Republics south of us. 

It is a great privilege to be able now to reenforce the information 
already in hand by that which comes from personal contact and from 
data obtained on the ground. Especially gratifying it will be to 
report that while what we have heretofore believed and said is true, 
it was not the whole story; that personal acquaintance this meet- 
ing has given the opportunity of formmg, association in the work of 
this International High Commission with the distinguished repre- 
sentatives of the various Republics, uniformly gracious, undeniably 
able and patriotic, eminent in their respective spheres, and devoted 
to the best conceptions of organized government as the , supreme 
agency of civilization, have given a clearer vision and a broader view 
of actual conditions in all the sister Republics. 

The individual touch, the seemg and knowing at first hand, not 
only emphasizes previous impressions but increases the admiration 
heretofore felt for the people and adds to the estimate entertained of 
the abounding material resources of those cotintries and likewise con- 
firms the confidence we have hitherto, felt in the possibilities the future 
holds in store for Latin America. 

Permit me to observe, for the purpose of making the point regarding 
publicity, that there is a clearer understanding in the United States 
of the conditions in Latin America than there is in Latin America of 
the conditions in the United States. One reason for that is our news- 
papers, those great engines for the dissemination of information, 
powerful forces in molding public opinion, constant means of educa- 
tion, here and there, carry more extensive news regarding Latin 
American countries than do the same agencies in Latin America 
regarding the United States. Your press, it seems to me, no doubt 
quite naturally, everything considered, gives your people much more 
news regarding Europe than it does concerning the United States. It 
is news of a much more important character from the standpoint of 
publicity. I would like to be allowed to express the hope that the 
press of Latin America direct attention to North America and instead 
of printing only the extraordinary, sensational occurrences, which 
make a wrong impression, tell of the sentiments, the achievements, 
the forward moving events which indicate the correct endeavors and 
ideals of your neighbor to the North. 

Notwithstanding your historic beginning, Mr. Minister, your ex- 
traordinary and permanent development, as you know, is of recent 
date, measured by the life of nations. I tell you no new thing when I 
observe that what you have accomplished is deserving of the praise of 
mankind. Yet I venture to believe you have simply scratched the 
surface of your resources. Blessed by every variety of climate and 



TIES THAT BIND THE AMERICAS. 5 

soil, with inexhaustible natural resources of every character, exten- 
sive coast line and navigable waters, your population will increase 
manv times, and the internal improvements, such as good roads, 
means of communication, upbuilding of rural conditions, will inevit- 
ably advance, and a brave and enterprising citizenship will work 
out a destiny beyond your fondest anticipations, worthy the hopes 
of the mighty men you have mentioned. 

A nation which produces the prime necessities of life which other 
nations must have is in a position of supreme power. Apply this 
truth to your conditions here in Argentina, for instance, and see where 
it le: ds. The only economic problem practically left is to reach the 
world's market places. As an economic question the solution of that 
great problem, the problem of distribution, is one in which we all, 
severally and collectively, are deeply concerned. These rich, unde- 
veloped acres about you, the mountain regions with their wealth of 
buried sunlight and mineral treasiu-e, the ready-made sites for water- 
power development where hydroelectric energy can be cheaply gen- 
erated and transmitted hundreds of miles and made to serve domestic 
use and industry, are but a few of the advantages which readily occur 
to the casual observer. The true leadership of the future will be com- 
mercial and economical, including agricultural and industrial. 

The sturdy descendants of the daring pioneers who marked out 
the routes of trade runnmg east and west will now shift those lines to 
north and south. Old commercial ties have been severed and new 
ones are formmg. The hour has arrived for extending and cementing 
those ties upon terms of equality and honor. 

In order to your full development many of your valuable products 
must find foreign markets. We in the other American Republics 
have a growing surplus of manufactured commodities and of products 
of fields and mines. It is so simple I hesitate to mention that if we 
can pay for each other's products with our own, it is a sensible thing 
to do on the part of all. That is trade, and if the settling of differ- 
ences can be made in dollars and fractions thereof, this trade will be 
facilitated. To establish and extend that trade to its full limits 
there must be adequate means of transportation. It stands to 
reason such means should be under our own control. With only 
inadequate means, or with uncertain and antagonistic means, com- 
merce between us must halt and limp. The great statesmen of 
another country have said — that country's rule is that country's 
trade— that empire is commerce. It is quite true that the ancient 
characteristic of commerce has disappeared and instead of aggression, 
commerce has come to mean tlie promotion of peace. We should 
faA^or the agencies of peace, even for the narrow, selfish reason that 
peace lasts longer than war. What we require then, and I need not 
press it after the views expressed in the sessions of the International 
High Commission, is a permanent moving bridge between the coun- 
tries of Pan America — that is, vessels sufficient to properly take care 
of our overseas trade. 

With peoples who truly love liberty under law and who have 
learned how to set the human spirit free there ought to be full com- 
prehension concernmg each other and between them a pervading good 
will and over aU good faith and confidence. Whatever obstacles may 



6 TIES THAT BIISTD THE AMEEICAS. 

lie in that road, this commission is proceeding in a practical way not 
merely to locate but to actually remove. 

The hearty cooperation of the best men in Pan American countries, 
as evidenced by this meeting, gives assurance that what ought to be 
will be and that the vision will become a reality. Any failure will 
be the result not of undertaking too much but of being satisfied 
with too little. 

Human society is an organism composed of living cells, not a 
mechanism, put together like a house. Its development is a matter 
of growth. Respect for popular rights is an important, a vital prin- 
ciple. The development of constitutional liberty is the high aim. 
The great achievement follows — individual opportunity and national 
mtegrity. With our faces set in that direction from the time the 
colonies gained their freedom, there has been a steady growth toward 
the end to which we dedicate our endeavors — the perfection of self- 
government — the common good of all. 

In the strongest terms, Mr. Minister, through you to your Govern- 
ment, we make grateful acknowledgment as we bring this session of 
the International High Commission to a close, and in like terms we 
assure you that we shall cherish always the sincere wish for the 
continued prosperity of your great country and the welfare of all its 
people. 

o 



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